The Diplomat
His Majesty the King attended yesterday at the National Palace of San Salvador, the second inauguration of the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, with whom he previously held a meeting.
Bukele assumed office after winning the elections held last February with a large majority, after five years in which he has maintained a tough policy against the maras or criminal gangs in the country.
Don Felipe arrived at the Salvadoran San Óscar Arnulfo Romero airport on Friday afternoon and later held a meeting with Bukele, in which they talked about the situation in the country and relations with Spain. The Salvadoran Government pointed out that the presence of the Monarch in El Salvador “is a symbol of the close friendship and cooperation” between both countries.
In the meeting with Bukele, the King was accompanied by the State Secretary for Ibero-America, the Caribbean and Spanish in the World, Susana Sumelzo, who, in the absence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, represented the Government in the delegation. Spanish who attended the inauguration of the Salvadoran president. Likewise, the Spanish ambassador in San Salvador, Carlos de la Morena, participated in the meeting.
Don Felipe also received a representation of the Spanish community in El Salvador at the ambassador’s residence.
During Bukele’s inauguration ceremony, the King coincided with other heads of state who attended the ceremony, including the Argentine president, Javier Milei, just a couple of weeks after the diplomatic crisis between Argentina and Spain broke out.
Don Felipe and Milei exchanged glances when the monarch headed to the seat that had been designated for him to witness the event, which, like that of the Argentine president, was located in the first row.
The cameras that broadcast Bukele’s inauguration live captured the moment in which the King of Spain, before sitting down, turned to his right and visualized the Argentine president. In the images you can see how the President leans forward in order to establish eye contact with Felipe VI and, upon seeing each other, they smile and nod to each other.
El Salvador was the last country where Don Felipe went for a presidential inauguration as Prince of Asturias. In Bukele’s previous inauguration, in 2019, Spain was represented by the then president of the Senate, Manuel Cruz. So far this year, this is the second presence of the Monarch at a presidential inauguration in Latin America, since in January he was at that of the president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo. His next trip for the same reason could be July 1, for the inauguration of the new president of Panama, José Raúl Mulino.
